Coming To Terms
by PriscillaPal
Summary: Everyone worries for Marguerite's baby, Finn and Ned get to the truth about Marguerite's birthright


Chapter 4  
  
Disclaimer None of the characters are mine, though I wish they were.  
  
Coming To Terms  
  
Marguerite's health is in jeopardy. Malone and Finn learn the circumstances surrounding Marguerite's kidnapping as an infant.  
  
Finn ran tirelessly through the jungle until she reached the spot where the air balloon had crashed. Ned saw her first and ran over to meet her.  
  
'What is it?' he asked. 'Is it Veronica?'  
  
Finn shook her head quickly.  
  
'Vee is fine.'  
  
She then looked at Roxton. Ned looked over as well. Challenger and Ian stopped what they were doing. Roxton rushed over.  
  
'What is it?'  
  
Finn glared at Ian, then lowered her voice.  
  
'That Countess upset Marguerite with some kind of story about the dead Count being her real father.'  
  
'What?!' Roxton exclaimed, looking at Malone. Ned's mouth dropped open.  
  
'That isn't the only thing,' Finn continued. 'I found some crazy document among the Countess's things. Vee said that the heir to the Countess's fortune has to sign away their rights. I think that woman came here looking for Marguerite!'  
  
Challenger began to move closer. Roxton turned and leaped at Ian. Malone and Challenger pulled him off of him.  
  
'You tell me what you know, damn you!' Roxton growled.  
  
Finn took out her cross-bow and pointed at Ian.  
  
'Cut the crap and tell us what you know!' she hissed.  
  
Challenger stood immobile. He looked at Ian.  
  
'Mr. Royce? Did Charisse have another purpose in mind when she came here?'  
  
When he did not answer right away, Roxton made another leap for him again. Ned and Cahllenger held him back again.  
  
'Look! This isn't getting us anywhere!' Ned shouted.  
  
'He's right!' Finn agreed. She looked at Challenger.  
  
'I came here to get Roxton and you. Marguerite is in some pain. Vee is with her.'  
  
Roxton grabbed his hat and his pack and began running back towards the tree house. Challenger hurried to do the same. Finn stepped in front of him.  
  
'I didn't want to say anything while Roxton is here because with the mood he's in, he's liable to kill your sister in law. But when Vee and I returned to the tree house, that woman had told Marguerite that story and the shock made her go faint. She was this close to falling over the tree house balcony and that woman was going to just let it happen! Challenger, you need to really wise up about that woman. She's dangerous.'  
  
Ian's eyes were wide. Challenger said nothing, but hurried to catch up with Roxton. Finn positioned her cross bow at Ian again.  
  
'Talk!'  
  
Ian cleared his throat nervously.  
  
'I swear! Murder was never going to be a part of this!'  
  
'Just what was the plan, Mr. Royce?' Ned asked, contempt in his voice.  
  
****  
  
Veronica put a cool cloth on Marguerite's head. She whimpered. Veronica shook her head. Roxton was going to kill the Countess! And she wasn't so sure she was willing to prevent him from doing so.  
  
She left Marguerite and walked back downstairs. The Countess was standing in the middle of the room.  
  
'Bold of you. I don't know if Challenger will be able to protect you from Roxton's wrath.'  
  
Charisse sighed.  
  
'Why does this have to be so ugly? I mean of course it must be a shock for the poor dear to learn of this unpleasant truth.'  
  
'Unpleasant for you.'  
  
'Excuse me?'  
  
Veronica pulled the folded document from inside her top. Charisse rolled her eyes.  
  
'Interesting hiding place.' she observed.  
  
Veronica threw it at her!   
  
'Not only may Marguerite lose her baby, but you have crushed everyone's dreams of returning to civilization. Especially Challenger's. I wonder if your sister knows what a monster you are?'  
  
Charisse became angry. She walked up to Veronica.  
  
'As far as George is concerned, it is my sister I'm thinking of! He has never been the kind of husband my sister deserved!'  
  
Veronica shook her head with disgust.  
  
'Well, now we know how you really feel about Challenger! Answer me this though. If Marguerite is the real heir to your fortune, why come here at all? No one knows her true identity and even if they did, she was assumed dead! You went to great lengths to get a signature from a person that no one believed was alive anyway!'  
  
The elevator coming up stopped them both. Roxton stepped off first, murder in his eyes. Veronica rushed over to him.  
  
'She's in bed. Challenger, you need to get in there now.'  
  
Veronica stepped in front of Roxton, to keep him from throttling the Countess, then pushed him after Challenger. She then looked back at the Countess, who looked quite shaken.  
  
'If I were you, I'd take a walk somewhere.' she said quietly, before joining her friends upstairs. The Countess smirked  
  
****  
  
Roxton cradled Marguerite next to him. Every once and awhile, she would cry out. She looked at Challenger with scared eyes.  
  
'What is happening to me?' she cried. Roxton stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head. He then looked at Challenger.  
  
Veronica entered the room.  
  
'The Zanga tribe has some medicine people in their village that may be able to help. I'm going there.'  
  
Challenger turned to look at her.  
  
'Take Roxton with you!'  
  
Roxton shook his head. 'I'm not leaving Marguerite!'  
  
Marguerite shook her head now. 'Veronica is not going alone. Go! I'll be fine!'  
  
'You don't look fine!'  
  
'I am in the capable hands of George Challenger.' Marguerite said, giving him a brave smile. She ignored the pain in order to reassure him.  
  
Roxton looked at Veronica, then back at Marguerite. He nodded.  
  
Marguerite nodded to Veronica, who gave her a silent look of reassurance. Roxton kissed Marguerite.  
  
'Try and hold on.' he whispered.  
  
Marguerite nodded. Roxton stood up and left the room with Veronica. Marguerite did not speak until she heard the elevator descending. She grasped George's shirt.  
  
'George...'  
  
'Just rest, my dear.'  
  
'George, watch out for the Countess! I know you want to see your wife again, but she's not what she seems.'  
  
Challenger wiped her forehead with a cloth.  
  
'I am sorry that she has caused you so much distress.'  
  
'You have to find out if she's telling the truth about my parentage.'  
  
George shook his head. 'I shouldn't leave you now.'  
  
'George please! No matter what we all think of her, you are the only person that could get the truth out of her! Please! I've waited my whole life for this!'  
  
Challenger nodded reluctantly, then stood up.   
  
'I will speak to her the next time I see her. I am going to get you some more water.'  
  
Marguerite nodded quickly, wincing. George hurried from the room.  
  
****  
  
'Well, lawyer? Nothing to say?' Finn asked sarcastically, her trigger finger itchy.  
  
Malone folded his arms.  
  
'You might as well just tell us what's going on, Royce!'  
  
Ian shook his head, then took a deep breath.  
  
'My father died some months back, actually, shortly after the Count died. On his deathbed, he told me of a letter I would find in his desk, from the Count. The letter contains details of how the current countess smothered his first wife, shortly after she gave birth to a baby girl. The Countess then paid a servant to get rid of the child, thus she would tell the Count that mother and daughter were killed during childbirth. But, the servant didn't have the heart to do so, and gave the child to a couple that had been unable to have children.  
  
Malone glanced at Finn, who still had her cross-bow pointed at Royce.  
  
'And that child was Marguerite?'  
  
Ian nodded. 'Apparently, the Count knew for some time that she was his daughter, since she resembled his late wife so strongly. That and my father did some research for the Count and confirmed her identity.'  
  
Finn snorted. 'Ha! If the Count knew all that time that Marguerite was his child, then why didn't he ever tell her?'  
  
Ian took another deep breath. 'He was afraid of what the Countess might do to her and...'  
  
'And what, Royce?' Malone demanded.  
  
'And he had other problems. The Countess does not know this, nor does Challenger, but the Count has always had a certain 'fondness' for Challenger's wife, Jessie.'  
  
'Great!' Finn hissed, disgusted at all of the betrayal. Marguerite has been screwed out of knowing her parents, and now it appeared that Challenger's wife was no damned good as well!  
  
'Jessie has never acted on it and has always deflected the advances of the Count. But it was the Count's jealousy that made him stop financing Challenger's expeditions. Challenger was quite unaware of this. He thought it was because he always came back empty-handed.'  
  
Malone pulled Finn aside. They both kept a careful eye on Ian Royce.  
  
'What do you think?' she asked.  
  
'I think we have more questions to ask Mr. Royce.' he responded. Finn gave him a puzzled look.  
  
'How did the Count even know Marguerite was still alive? And when did the Countess learn that Marguerite was the baby she thought had been killed?'  
  
Ian walked over to them. Finn was on her guard.  
  
'That's close enough!'  
  
Ian stopped. 'I felt honor bound, after my father died, to show the Countess the letter. What she did not count on, was my refusal to keep her conspiracy going.'  
  
'What do you mean?' Malone asked.  
  
'I mean, I was the one that wanted to know that the true heir was still alive, not the Countess. I told her the only way I would go along with her keeping the Von Bubrik fortune, was if she got the rightful heir to sign it away. Needless to say, she was more than disappointed to find everyone from the expedition alive.'  
  
'Nice!' Finn hissed.  
  
Malone put a hand up. 'Alright. Let me see if I can follow this. The current Countess was the former Countess's nurse. Somewhere along the line, she falls for the Count, but knows that she will never have him as long as his current wife and soon-to-be expected child are in the picture. So, our current Countess smothers her predecessor shortly after giving birth. Then, she pays a servant to kill the child, clearing the way for her to work her wiles on the Count. But, the servant gives the child, Marguerite, to a childless couple instead. Years later, the Count figures out that Marguerite is his child and leaves everything to her. When he dies, the current Countess finds out and expects you to go along with the deception of there being no child at all, thus making her the beneficiary of the Von Bubrik estate. Am I getting this so far?'  
  
Ian only nods.  
  
'Alright. But that still doesn't explain how and when the Count figured out that Marguerite did not die here? I mean, why leave everything to a woman that had presumably died as part of the Challenger expedition?'  
  
'Look,' Ian said. 'The Countess may be a malicious woman, but not even she could fend off two angry men. I would like to continue our story back at your tree house, please?'  
  
Finn rolled her eyes again.  
  
'Fine! Let's get going.' she said, indicating that her and Malone would follow Ian. Ian put on his hat. They began walking. 


End file.
